circles

Someone at Google has a real fascination with round icons. Over the past few years, we've seen them become the default shape for most of Google's app icons, adorn the Pixel launcher's app drawer, pop up in the Play Store, get tested as search shortcuts in the Google app, just to name a few instances. And now at least one user has spotted round icons for the different stories to read cards in his Google Feed.

An infographic posted on Google+ yesterday really has managed to capture the emotional roller coaster of Google's app icon evolution on Android over the past four years. Using the icons for Play Books, Music, Movies, Newstand, and Games, we can watch as Android goes from toy-like skeuomorphism, to paper cutouts, to triangles (!?), to triangles in circles (disgruntled face here) in Nougat.

By the time this post goes up, I'm sure most of our readers will have seen Google's circlified icons in the new Pixel launcher, bound for the new Pixel phones. I've been asked a few times what I think about the new launcher and, for the most part, I don't have a strong opinion. But I do have some thoughts about the circlified icons, some guesses at the rationale, and some thoughts about the downsides of consistency for its own sake. As with any written-from-the-outside post about design, I want to note up front that we aren't privy to any research, data, or other information Google used to make its decisions, so the best we can do is respectfully speculate and ponder.

If there is anything you can count on to remain the same in Android, it's that Google is continually looking to change it. The visual style of the world's leading mobile operating system is updated every year as new versions are released, but it's with Google's own apps that there are almost constant shifts in what we're seeing. As we all know, Android 7.1 is in the works, and it's expected to be released alongside the upcoming Pixel and Pixel XL phones, which themselves will include a brand new (and much leaked) Pixel Launcher. For its latest daring design move, Google appears to be adopting a new look for the home screen, and it's all about circles.

Google is always trying something new with its different apps. Our personal nightmare is YouTube — ask Cody, trying to monitor the dozens of tips we get each week about a new YouTube UI are his personal nightmare. But Google Now might be an exception. The app's stream of cards has looked the same for a while and it's rather consistent between users. Not anymore.

The server-side switch plague has claimed another victim. Some users are seeing a series of blue circle icons on top of their Google Now stream for weather, dining, movies, and shopping. Others, like me, are not.

The icons don't do anything beside launch a search — and thus trigger smart cards and results — for their respective purposes. They're basically glorified search shortcuts, or maybe big hints for those who don't know what exactly you can search for on Google Now.

A new "People" section has popped up inside the Android Play Store app, and it doesn't require an update to hop into (we're still using 4.6.17). This corner of the market will point you towards other Android users, particularly those in your circles, and offer a look at what apps and content they're using. The area is accessible right from the app's sidebar, and it's significantly glossier than the similar "From familiar faces" section of the Play Store's home page.

The feature integrates with Google+, pushing you to follow users or view their full profiles. Within the Play Store app, the focus is entirely on content.

Just like the web version of Google+, the Android app will now show you at least some of your friends' "+1" activity in the main social stream. The new functionality (which has more than a little in common with the way Facebook does things) should allow Google+ to be even more social - you'll be able to weigh in on more of your friends' activity, or at least the activity that doesn't include full posts. The updated app went live yesterday.

The tiny changelog reads as follows: "Discover posts that your friends have +1'd." Google stresses that people who have added you to their circles won't be able to see anything they couldn't before just by clicking on your profile - the public and private options for new posts are intact.

Google I/O isn't even finished yet, and everyone's favorite search company has already shaken things up quite a bit. One of the biggest things Google announced was Google Events. Google said that this new feature would allow users to coordinate events and share them with others. What Google didn't say was that with the addition of this feature, Google+ is ready. Cooked until golden brown and ready to be served. And, guys? It's time to dig in.

By Your Powers Combined

Social networks will continue to evolve as long as people do, but today marked a subtle, yet important transition for Google: the day that the biggest majority of its key features finally became unified in a meaningful, social way.

The Google+ app has received another fancy new update today. Avid Google+ followers will remember that just a month ago, the mobile Google+ got a facelift. Well, forget everything you knew about that app. Google's social network is getting another new facelift. And a sweet tablet interface to boot.

The new interface has a much lighter, brighter look, while still maintaining the large focus on pictures and videos of the previous update. The update also brings a much-needed tablet interface to the app, and finally enables the latent Events support that we knew was hiding there. Also, Google subtly snuck in the ability to see your entire feed, or just the feed from certain circles in a drop down box.